Soy bean processing machine

ABSTRACT

A processing machine for soy beans or other like material comprising a variable speed auger means which feeds soy beans into a hopper positioned above and in communication with an elongated barrel type housing. A screw conveyor means is rotatably mounted in the housing and has one end thereof operatively connected to power means for rotation thereof. A spiral flighting means extends from the conveyor means towards the housing for conveying the soy beans along the length of the housing from its intake end to its discharge end. A fluting means is provided on the interior surface of the housing and extends towards the screw conveyor means. A frustum-shaped end plate is secured to the discharge end of the screw conveyor means for rotation therewith. A ring-shaped end member is secured to the discharge end of the housing and has a central opening formed therein with a progressively increasing diameter. The frustumshaped end member is rotatably received within the central opening. A bearing means is provided at the intake end of the conveyor means and is threadably mounted in the intake end of the housing to permit the selective longitudinal movement of the conveyor means with respect to the housing. The selective longitudinal movement of the bearing means causes the longitudinal movement of the conveyor means which permits the clearance between the frustum-shaped end member and the ringshaped end member to be varied. A brake means is provided on the machine adapted to engage the bearing means to maintain it in its selected positions with respect to the housing. A temperature sensing means is also provided on the housing for sensing the temperature of the material at the discharge end thereof. The soy beans are crushed and conveyed by the conveyor means and are forced outwardly from the housing between the frustum-shaped end member and the ring-shaped member. The soy beans are crushed, heated and cooked by heat and pressure applied thereto as the same travels through the housing and passes outwardly therefrom.

United States Patent McBride I54] SOY BEAN PROCESSING MACHINE 72Inventor: John A. McBride 4760 Nw 50th 81., Des Moines, Iowa 50323 22Filed: Oct. 23, 1970 [21] 'Appl. No.: 84,730

[52] US. Cl ..99/235 R, 100/148, 259/10 [51] Int. Cl. ..A23k 1/14 [58]Field of Search ..99/235, 237-238;

18/12, 16; 100/D1G. 3, DIG. 8, DIG. 10, 43, 148', 198/64; 259/9-l0,25-26, 45-46 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Jenkins AssistantExaminer-Arthur 0. Henderson Att0rneyZarley, McKee & Thomte [57]ABSTRACT A processing machine for soy beans or other like materialcomprising a variable speed auger means which feeds soy beans into ahopper positioned above [431 Aug. 22, 1972 and in communication with anelongated barrel type housing. A screw conveyor means is rotatablymounted in the housing and has one end thereof operatively connected topower means for rotation thereof. A spiral flighting means extends fromthe conveyor means towards the housing for conveying the soy beans alongthe length of the housing from its intake end to its discharge end. Afluting means is provided on the interior surface of the housing and,extends towards the screw conveyor means. A frustumshaped end plate issecured to the discharge end of the screw conveyor means for rotationtherewith. A ringshaped end member is secured'to the discharge end ofthe housing and has a central opening formed therein with aprogressively increasing diameter. The frustumshaped end member isrotatably received within the central opening. A bearing means isprovided at the intake end of the conveyor means and is threadablymounted in the intake end of the housing to permit the selectivelongitudinal movement of the conveyor means with respect to the housing.The selective longitudinal movement of the bearing means causes thelongitudinal movement of the conveyor means which permits the clearancebetween the frustum-shaped end member and the ring-shaped end member tobe varied. A brake means is provided on the machine adapted to engagethe bearing means to maintain it in its selected positions with respectto the housing. A temperature sensing means is also provided on thehousing for sensing the temperature of the material at the discharge endthereof. The soy beans are crushed and conveyed by the conveyor meansand are forced outwardly from the housing between the frustumshaped endmember and the ring-shaped member. The soy beans are crushed, heated andcooked by heat and pressure applied thereto as the same travels throughthe housing and passes outwardly therefrom.

1 1 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG 22 1972 SOY BEAN PROCESSINGMACHINE Soy beams are not suitable for animal feed until they have beencooked to neutralize the urease activity therein. Attempts have beenmade to cook the soy beans prior to their use as animal feeds but theprevious methods have met with little success due to the inefficiency ofthe methods and the relatively high cost of preparing the soy beans. Themachine disclosed in the co-pending application represented a distinctadvancement in the art and the invention of the instant applicationrepresents an improvement over applicants earlier machine.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to provide aprocessing machine for soy beans or the like.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine which is efficient in operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine which is economical of manufacture and economically processesthe soy beans.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine which heats and cooks the soy beans as the soy bean material ispassed through a main screw conveyor housing.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine which may be easily cleaned.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine which will not become clogged.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine which is durable in use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine having convenient adjustment means thereon for permitting theselective adjustment of the screw conveyor means with respect to thehousing.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine having a temperature sensing means provided thereon.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine having a variable speed intake auger means associated therewith.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soy bean processingmachine which may be easily disassembled.

These and other object will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, andcombination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the machine of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the main screw conveyor housingand the screw conveyor means therein as seen on lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view as seen along lines 3--3 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial end elevational view of one form of the screwconveyor means.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but which illustrates a modified formof the screw conveyor means.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the hydraulic circuitry for the inputauger means.

The machine of this invention is generally designated by the referencenumeral 10 comprising generally a wheeled frame means 12 having a mainscrew conveyor housing 14 extending longitudinally thereon. Housing 14has an intake end 16 and and a discharge end 18. Housing 14 has anintake opening 20 formed therein which is in communication with a hopper22. Hopper 22 is adapted to receive soy beans or other like materialtherein from a variable speed input auger 24. Auger 24 is driven by ahydraulic motor 26 at the upper end thereof. Motor 26 is connected to acontrol valve 28 by a hose 30. Motor 26 is connected to the hydraulicfluid reservoir 32 on the tractor or the like by a hose 34. A tractor orthe like is normally used to pull the machine 10 and the hydraulicsystem of the tractor is used to drive the motor 26. Reservoir 32 isconnected to a pump 36 on the tractor by conduit 38. Pump 36 isconnected to a pressure relief valve 40 by conduit 42. Relief valve 40is connected to the valve 28 by conduit 44 and is connected to the hose34 by a conduit 46. Valve 28 is connected to hose 34 by conduit 47.

The speed of the auger 24 may be varied by simply manually operating thevalve 28 so as to control the amount of fluid being supplied to themotor 26. When valve 28 is closed, the hydraulic fluid is recirculatedto the reservoir 32 by means of conduit 46 and hose 34. When valve 28 isopened, fluid is supplied to the motor 26 to drive the auger 24. Theconduit 47 permits fluid to return to reservoir 32 when the motor 26isnt being operated at maximum speed.

A temperature indicating meter 48 is provided on the machine 10 so as tobe easily visible to the operator. Meter 48 is mechanically connected toa sensing means 50 provided on the housing 14 adjacent the discharge endthereof for sensing the temperature of the material in the housing justprior to the material being discharged therefrom.

Housing 14 is provided with a plurality of elongated flutes 52 or thelike which extend inwardly from the interior surface of the housing.Housing 14 is provided with an internally threaded portion 54 which hasthe hub portion 56 of a bearing means 58 threadably received therein. Asseen in FIG. 3, hub portion 56 is threadably received by the internallythreaded portion 54 and has a smooth outer end surface 60 providedthereon. Bearing means 58 includes a bearing inner' housing 62 whichembraces cylindrical portion 64 of shaft 66 which extends through thehousing 14. The inner end of housing 62 engages shoulder 68 on shaft 66as illustrated in FIG. 3. Tapered roller bearings 69 and 70 arepositioned between hub portion 56 and housing 62 and are spaced by meansof a snap ring assembly 71 as seen in FIG. 3. The inner end of bearing70 engages shoulder 72 on housing 62. Seal 73 embraces the inner end ofhousing 62 to prevent material from entering the interior of the bearingmeans. A bearing pre-load nut 74 is threadably mounted on the outer endof housing 62 to permit the amount of load imposed in the bearings to beselectively varied. Seal 76 embraces the pre-load nut 74 as seen in FIG.3 to prevent foreign material from entering the interior of the bearingmeans 58. Nut 78 is threadably mounted on shaft 66 and provides a meansfor removing the shaft 66 from the machine and to permit the removal ofthe complete bearing means 58. The removal of nut 78 perof the interiorof the housing 14. A frustum shaped base plate 89 is welded to thedischarge end of the cylindrical portion 86 and has a frustum shaped endplate 90 secured thereto by a plurality of bolts 92 in the manner seenin FIG. 2. A ring 94 extends around the discharge end of the housing 14and is secured thereto by welding 'or. the like as. illustrated in FIG.3. A ring-shaped member 96 is secured to the ring 94 in the mannerillustrated in FIG. 3 by a plurality of bolts 98 extending therethrough.Member 96 is provided with a central opening formed therein having anincreasing diameter from the inner end to outer end thereof therebydefining a tapered surface 100. The surface 102 of plate 90 and surface100'of member 96 defines a space 104 therebetween.

A plurality of arms 106 are secured to the outer end I of hub portion 56as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 to pro- I vide a convenient means ofthreadably rotating the hub portion 56 to move the bearing meansinwardly or outwardly with respect'to the housing 14 thereby causing'theplate 90 to be moved towards or away from surface 100 of member 96.Pipe 108 is secured to the machine by welding or the like and has a rod110 threadably extending therethrough. The lower end of rod llhas abrake shoe 112 mounted thereon which is adapted to I frictionally engagethe surface 60 of hub portion 56 to maintainthe hub portion and bearingmeans in position. The rod 110 may be threadably moved upwardly in pipe108 ,to move brake shoe 1 12 out of frictional engagement with the hubportion 56 when it is desired to threadably move the hub portion 56 withrespect to the housing 14. 7

FIG. 4 illustrates one possible configuration for the discharge end ofthe shaft or screw conveyor means. A plurality of beater bars 114 aremounted on the discharge end of the screw conveyor means in a spacedapart relationship and are designed to restrict the flow the materialthereby so as to create additional agitating and heating of thematerial. The beater bars are disposed at a 30 angle with respect to theshaft to define a ramp-like configuration. It is preferred that 8 ofsuch bars be provided. FIG. illustrates a still further modifiedconfiguration of the screw conveyor means wherein the discharge end ofthe screw conveyor means is provided with a flighting portion 118 havinga much greater lead than the flighting on the remaining portion of thescrew conveyor means.

. In operation, the materialis deposited in the hopper 22 by the auger24 at a rate which is controlled by the the opening 20. The rotation ofthe shaft 66 by the shaft 84 causes the flighting 88 to convey thematerial along the length of the housing 14. The material is crushed asit is conveyed from one end of the housing to the other due to therelationship of the flighting 88 and the flutes .manually operatedcontrol valve 28. The material is deposited into the intake end of thehousing 14 through 52. When the material reaches the discharge end ofthe housing, the material is forced outwardly through the 1 space 104.The forcingof the material through the.

small space 104 creates a tremendous pressure to be exerted on thematerial to the point where the soy beans are substantially liquified bythe combination of heat and pressure generated by the intense frictionalforces applied thereto at that particular point. The soy bean materialswhich are being processed are in a fluid state upon reaching the end ofthe flighting 88. At this n time, the soy beans are in small particlesif notcompletely in a liquified form. The material is then passedbetween the surfaces and 102. The surfaces 100 and 102 will becomeextremely hot during the I operation and the additional heat supplied tothe material by the surfaces further aids in heating and cooking thematerial.

The space 104 is easily adjusted by simply threadably moving the hubportion 56 with respect to the housing 14 as previously described. If itis desired to increase the space 104, the hub portion 56 is simplyrotated so as to be moved inwardly with respect to the housing 14 whichcauses the plate 90 to be moved outwardly with respect to the member 96.When the shaft 66 is properly positioned, the rod is threadably moved soas to cause the frictional engagement of the brake shoe 112 onto thesurface 60 which will prevent the hub portion 56 from inadvertentlyrotating during the operation of the machine. The arms 106 providea'convenient meansfor selectively threadably rotating the hub portion 56with respect to the housing.

The pre-load nut 74 provides a convenient means for maintaining thebearings in position and also'provides the necessary loading of thesame. The sensing means 50 senses the temperature of the materialadjacent the discharge end of the housing and provides a visual means tothe operator which indicates the temperature of the material beingdischarged from the machine. The Y intense heat and pressure applied tothe soy bean material as it passesthrough the housing 14 and outwardlythrough the space 104 in effect cooks the soy V bean material toneutralize the urease activity therein.

It can be appreciated that the interior of the housing is easily cleanedby simply removing the nut 78 and the I bearing assembly to permit theshaft 66 to be removed from the discharge end of the housing.

It should be noted that the conical shape of plates 89 and 90 providearninimum area for the material to exert longitudinal thrust on theshaft 66 and thus substantially reduces the wear on bearing means 58.

Thus it can be seen that an extremely efficient machine has beenprovided for processing soy bean materials or the like. Thus theinvention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

I claim:

l. A machine for cooking material, comprising,

an elongated hollow housing having opposite ends and an interior wallsurface,

a screw conveyor means including a shaft with spiral flighting thereonrotatably mounted in said housing for conveying material along theinterior of said housing upon the rotation of said shaft,

said housing having a material inlet opening adjacentv its said one end,means for supplying material to said material inlet opening,

means extending inwardly from the interior of said housing towards saidspiral flighting means,

a ring-shaped member secured to the other endof said housing and havinga central opening formed therein which has a progressively increasingdiameter from the inner to outer ends thereof,

a frustum-shaped end member mounted within said central opening of saidring-shaped member,

said material being heated and cooked by heat and pressure appliedthereto which is generated as the material is conveyed along theinterior of said housing and forced outwardly from said housing betweensaid ring-shaped member and said frustum-shaped end member,

and wherein said frustum-shaped end member is secured to said shaft, andmeans is provided on said shaft and said housing for selectivelyadjusting the longitudinal position of said shaft to adjust the spacebetween said frustum-shaped end member and said central opening of saidring-shaped member.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said one end of said housing includesan internally threaded portion, a bearing meansthreadably secured tosaid internally threaded portion and being longitudinally movable withrespect thereto, said shaft rotatably extending through said .bearingmeans and being longitudinally movable therewith, and means formaintaining said shaft in position with respect to said bearing means.

3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said shaft includes a cylindricalportion having a shoulder means at the inner end thereof, a bearinginner housing mounted on said cylindrical portion and having a shouldermeans at its inner end and an externally threaded portion at its outerend, a roller bearing means mounted on said bearing inner housingoutwardly of said shoulder means thereon, a pre-load nut threadablymounted on the threaded portion of said bearing inner housing engagingsaid roller bearing means, a cylindrical hub portion embracing saidroller bearing means and being selectively threadably secured to saidhousing and having inner and outer ends, and means on the outer end ofsaid hub portion for selectively threadably moving said hub portion,roller bearing means and said shaft with respect to said housing wherebythe space between said frustum-shaped end member and said centralopening of said ring-shaped member may be adjusted.

4. The machine of claim 3 wherein said means on the outer end of saidhub portion comprises a plurality of outwardly extending arms.

5. The machine of claim 3 wherein a brake means is secured to themachine which is selectively movable into engagement with said hubportion to prevent rotation of said hub portion with respect to saidhousing.

6. A machine for cooking material, comprising,

an elongated hollow housing having opposite ends and an interior wallsurface,

a screw conveyor means including a shaft with spiral flighting thereonrotatably mounted in said housing for conveying material along theinterior of said housing upon the rotation of said shaft,

said housing having a material inlet opening adjacent its said one end,

means for supplying material to said material inlet opening,

means extending inwardly from the interior of said housing towards saidspiral flighting means,

a ring-shaped member secured to the other end of said housing and havinga central opening formed therein which has a progressively increasingdiameter from the inner to outer ends thereof,

a frustum-shaped end member mounted within said central opening of saidring-shaped member,

said material being heated and cookedby heat and pressure appliedthereto which is generated as the a screw conveyor means including ashaft with spiral flighting thereon rotatably mounted in said housingfor conveying material along the interior of said housing upon therotation of said shaft,

said housing having a material inlet opening adjacent its said one end,

means for supplying material to said material inlet opening,

means extending inwardly from the interior of said housing towards saidspiral flightin g means,

a ring-shaped member secured to the other end of said housing and havinga central opening formed therein which has a progressively increasingdiameter from the inner to outer ends thereof,

a frustum-shaped end member mounted within said central opening of saidring-shaped member,

said material being heated and cooked by heat and pressure appliedthereto which is generated as the material is conveyed along theinterior of said housing and forced outwardly from said housing betweensaid ring-shaped member and said frustum-shaped end member,

and wherein an outwardly extending ramp means is mounted on said shaftadjacent said frustumshaped end member.

8. A machine for cooking material, comprising,

an elongated hollow housing having opposite ends and an interior wallsurface,

a screw conveyor means including a shaft with spiral flighting thereonrotatably mounted in said housing for conveying material along theinterior of said housing upon the rotation of said shaft,

said housing having a material inlet opening adjacent its said one end,

means for supplying material to said material inlet opening,

means extending inwardly from the interior of said housing towards saidspiral flighting means,

a ring-shaped member secured to the other end of said housing and havinga central opening formed therein which has a progressively increasingdiameter from the inner to outer ends thereof,

a frustum-shaped end member mounted within said central opening of saidring-shaped member,

said material being heated and cooked by heat and pressure appliedthereto which is generated as the material is conveyed along theinterior of said housing and forced outwardly from said housing betweensaid ring-shaped member and said frustum-shaped end member,

and wherein said shaft is rotatably mounted in, a

bearing means adjacent said one end, and said metering surfacecooperating with a second metering surface on said housing assembly anddefining therewith said discharge opening;

frustum-shaped 6nd member limi n SubStanthe restrictive action providedby the restricted tially neutralizes the longitudinal thrust, imposed laran and blocking means being such that on said hf by Pressure f P pgrain is heated and cooked by heat and pressure" around said 'f andbetween Sald p generatedasthe grain is conveyed along the interimember 9Sald i p d 6 m l' to or of said housing assembly, discharged outwardlyprotect said bearing means against longitudinal 10 through Saiddischarge opening and redirected movement Qfsald Shaft by) past saidblocking means; and ,In a machine, cookmg gram P said cooking controlmeans operable to selectively elongated hollow housing assembly having alongituadjust the restrictive action provided by said dinal axis,opposite ends andan interior wall surface; restricted clearance and saidblocking means and a screw (fonveyof ""P mcludmg a shaft assembly causeselective regulation of said heating and extending longitudinally of,and rotatably mounted cooking of Said grain. m said. housing m i screwconveyer the improvement wherein at least one of said first i gi a 3 "gg and second surfaces is disposed at an acute angle veying grain ong einterior 0 sai ousing assembly upon the rotation of said shaft assemblyrelative to Sald housinglongnudmal with restricted clearance betweensaid flighting In a machine accordmg to claim 9 wherem both of saidfirst and second metering surfaces are disposed means and said surface;7 said housing assembly having grain inlet and at acut? angle relanve tohougng !onglmdm.al

discharge openings axis and diverging therefrom in the direction of gram5 adjacent its opposite ends; movement 11. in a machine according toclaim 10 wherein said shaft assembly is longitudinally adjustable insaid housing assembly to adjust the spacing between said first andsecond metering surfaces.

' means for supplying grain to said grain inlet opening;

1 cooking control means comprising adjustable blocking means foradjustably restricting and adjustably partially blocking said dischargeopening,- said adjustable blocking means including a first

1. A machine for cooking material, comprising, an elongated hollowhousing having opposite ends and an interior wall surface, a screwconveyor means including a shaft with spiral flighting thereon rotatablymounted in said housing for conveying material along the interior ofsaid housing upon the rotation of said shaft, said housing having Amaterial inlet opening adjacent its said one end, means for supplyingmaterial to said material inlet opening, means extending inwardly fromthe interior of said housing towards said spiral flighting means, aring-shaped member secured to the other end of said housing and having acentral opening formed therein which has a progressively increasingdiameter from the inner to outer ends thereof, a frustum-shaped endmember mounted within said central opening of said ring-shaped member,said material being heated and cooked by heat and pressure appliedthereto which is generated as the material is conveyed along theinterior of said housing and forced outwardly from said housing betweensaid ring-shaped member and said frustumshaped end member, and whereinsaid frustum-shaped end member is secured to said shaft, and means isprovided on said shaft and said housing for selectively adjusting thelongitudinal position of said shaft to adjust the space between saidfrustum-shaped end member and said central opening of said ring-shapedmember.
 2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said one end of said housingincludes an internally threaded portion, a bearing means threadablysecured to said internally threaded portion and being longitudinallymovable with respect thereto, said shaft rotatably extending throughsaid bearing means and being longitudinally movable therewith, and meansfor maintaining said shaft in position with respect to said bearingmeans.
 3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said shaft includes acylindrical portion having a shoulder means at the inner end thereof, abearing inner housing mounted on said cylindrical portion and having ashoulder means at its inner end and an externally threaded portion atits outer end, a roller bearing means mounted on said bearing innerhousing outwardly of said shoulder means thereon, a pre-load nutthreadably mounted on the threaded portion of said bearing inner housingengaging said roller bearing means, a cylindrical hub portion embracingsaid roller bearing means and being selectively threadably secured tosaid housing and having inner and outer ends, and means on the outer endof said hub portion for selectively threadably moving said hub portion,roller bearing means and said shaft with respect to said housing wherebythe space between said frustum-shaped end member and said centralopening of said ring-shaped member may be adjusted.
 4. The machine ofclaim 3 wherein said means on the outer end of said hub portioncomprises a plurality of outwardly extending arms.
 5. The machine ofclaim 3 wherein a brake means is secured to the machine which isselectively movable into engagement with said hub portion to preventrotation of said hub portion with respect to said housing.
 6. A machinefor cooking material, comprising, an elongated hollow housing havingopposite ends and an interior wall surface, a screw conveyor meansincluding a shaft with spiral flighting thereon rotatably mounted insaid housing for conveying material along the interior of said housingupon the rotation of said shaft, said housing having a material inletopening adjacent its said one end, means for supplying material to saidmaterial inlet opening, means extending inwardly from the interior ofsaid housing towards said spiral flighting means, a ring-shaped membersecured to the other end of said housing and having a central openingformed therein which has a progressively increasing diameter from theinner to outer ends thereof, a frustum-shaped end member mounted withinsaid central opening of said ring-shaped member, said material beingheated and cooked by heat and pressure applied thereto which isgenerated as the material is conveyed along the interior of said housingand forced outwardly from said housing between said ring-shaped memberand said frustum-shaped end member, and wherein a plurality of outwardlyextending beater bars are secured to said shaft adjacent saidfrustum-shaped end member.
 7. A machine for cooking material,comprising, an elongated hollow housing having opposite ends and aninterior wall surface, a screw conveyor means including a shaft withspiral flighting thereon rotatably mounted in said housing for conveyingmaterial along the interior of said housing upon the rotation of saidshaft, said housing having a material inlet opening adjacent its saidone end, means for supplying material to said material inlet opening,means extending inwardly from the interior of said housing towards saidspiral flighting means, a ring-shaped member secured to the other end ofsaid housing and having a central opening formed therein which has aprogressively increasing diameter from the inner to outer ends thereof,a frustum-shaped end member mounted within said central opening of saidring-shaped member, said material being heated and cooked by heat andpressure applied thereto which is generated as the material is conveyedalong the interior of said housing and forced outwardly from saidhousing between said ring-shaped member and said frustum-shaped endmember, and wherein an outwardly extending ramp means is mounted on saidshaft adjacent said frustum-shaped end member.
 8. A machine for cookingmaterial, comprising, an elongated hollow housing having opposite endsand an interior wall surface, a screw conveyor means including a shaftwith spiral flighting thereon rotatably mounted in said housing forconveying material along the interior of said housing upon the rotationof said shaft, said housing having a material inlet opening adjacent itssaid one end, means for supplying material to said material inletopening, means extending inwardly from the interior of said housingtowards said spiral flighting means, a ring-shaped member secured to theother end of said housing and having a central opening formed thereinwhich has a progressively increasing diameter from the inner to outerends thereof, a frustum-shaped end member mounted within said centralopening of said ring-shaped member, said material being heated andcooked by heat and pressure applied thereto which is generated as thematerial is conveyed along the interior of said housing and forcedoutwardly from said housing between said ring-shaped member and saidfrustum-shaped end member, and wherein said shaft is rotatably mountedin a bearing means adjacent said one end, and said frustum-shaped endmember limits and substantially neutralizes the longitudinal thrustimposed on said shaft by pressure of material compressed around saidshaft and between said ring-shaped member and said frustum-shaped endmember to protect said bearing means against longitudinal movement ofsaid shaft.
 9. In a machine for cooking grain, comprising an elongatedhollow housing assembly having a longitudinal axis, opposite ends and aninterior wall surface; a screw conveyor means including a shaft assemblyextending longitudinally of, and rotatably mounted in said housingassembly, said screw conveyer means including a spiral flighting meansfor conveying grain along the interior of said housing assembly upon therotation of said shaft assembly with restricted clearance between saidflighting means and said surface; said housing assembly having graininlet and discharge openings adjacent its opposite ends; means forsupplying grain to said grain inlet opening; cooking control meanscomprising adjustable blocking means for adjustably restricting andadjustably partially blocking said discharge opening, said adjustableblocking means including a first metering surface on said shaftassembly, said first metering surface cooperating with a second meteringsurface on said housing assembly and defining therewith said dischargeopening; the restrictive action provided by the restricted clearance andblocking means being such that grain is heated and cooked by heat andpressuRe generated as the grain is conveyed along the interior of saidhousing assembly, discharged outwardly through said discharge openingand (redirected by) past said blocking means; and said cooking controlmeans operable to selectively adjust the restrictive action provided bysaid restricted clearance and said blocking means and cause selectiveregulation of said heating and cooking of said grain; the improvementwherein at least one of said first and second surfaces is disposed at anacute angle relative to said housing longitudinal axis.
 10. In a machineaccording to claim 9 wherein both of said first and second meteringsurfaces are disposed at an acute angle relative to said housinglongitudinal axis and diverging therefrom in the direction of grainmovement.
 11. In a machine according to claim 10 wherein said shaftassembly is longitudinally adjustable in said housing assembly to adjustthe spacing between said first and second metering surfaces.